The Problem With That Camera
by Ys
Summary: [Complete] After Civil War, there are some questions unanswered, especially about the video and the camera... Set before Avengers: Infinity Wars. First in the "Building a New Life" series.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers Infinity War.

* * *

When leaving Wakanda, Steve had promised T'Challa he would be patient. The few days he had spent there had taught him that things were not easy for the young king and that he would have to fight for his birthright – and maybe also for his right to wear the Black Panther habit. So of course, he would have many things to oversee instead of just one broken killing machine, no matter how important Steve judged Bucky to be. Probably because Bucky was only important to him.

So that day, when he came over to visit on his way back from yet another mission with Natasha and Sam, he was quite surprised by the welcome T'Challa gave him. After a few polite exchanges, the young king, clearly impatient, said, "My sister has some things to tell you."

Steve had only met Shuri once, when she had explained to him how she would create a digital representation of Bucky's mind, which would serve for testing purposes. She had grown grave when hearing the extend of the damages Bucky had suffered and she had promised to do her best to remove 'what HYDRA had put in him', as Bucky would say, all the while keeping all his memories intact. At least, those he had recovered. For a moment, Steve had almost thought he was listening to Tony and T'Challa had assured him that his sister was a true genius – a pranking genius, he had added a bit sourly.

She had been very regal the last time he had seen her, so he didn't expect her to be wearing jeans and a Winter Soldier t-shirt. Where had she found this one? Steve wondered if there were Red Skull t-shirts or Armin Zola t-shirts. She grinned at him.

"It's just because it annoys him to no end," she said as way of an explanation.

Before Steve could consider the 'him', Bucky appeared behind Shuri, looking forbidding. He had just jeans and a pale blue t-shirt, far from his all black Winter Soldier outfit, no visible weapon at hand. Even his new bionic arm was different, with gold lining and no more red star on it. Then Bucky saw Steve and smiled at him, the kind of smile that made Steve feel sixteen years old again.

"You–"

"Don't you go ask me if I know you," Bucky interrupted him. "Shuri and T'Challa would not have brought you here otherwise."

Unable to restraint himself, Steve hugged him. Bucky tensed before returning the hug. Steve remembered that moment in the Quinjet, when arriving at the Siberian HYDRA base, when he had put his hand on Bucky's shoulder and Bucky had looked at it with some kind of surprise. He was no more used to small gestures of affection.

"It will come back," Steve murmured.

"It already has, but it's strange... Almost like dreams. As if I imagined it, but it never was real."

"I can spend all my free time retelling you everything for making it real again."

"You would!" Bucky's smile was larger now, but he sobered suddenly. "I'm not sure we'll have the time. Things... I don't know, things are going to get... strange."

T'Challa and Shuri were not even pretending they were not listening. Bucky frowned.

"You told me about the Infinity Stones. Is that the name? Well, the gems your Thor mentioned. Great power. Look at what one of them can accomplish with Vision, even if he's no match for our Wanda. Thor said it was not a coincidence."

"Right. That we were pawns. Someone is overseeing the whole thing."

"What if... what if the scission between Stark and you was part of that plan? Team Cap, team Iron Man? If we fight together, we have more chances to win than if there are feuds in our ranks."

"Divided we fall...," Steve murmured, thinking it over.

"Divided we die," Bucky corrected. "And I'm the cause of that rift."

"No, you're not. Tony and I were already arguing about the Sokovia Accords."

"Arguing. Not fighting. Not hitting each other to the point that he thought you were going to kill him."

"He tried–"

"He tried to keep you away. Had you remained on the side lines, nothing would have happened to you. He was after me and would have killed only me."

"We would have lost a great fighter then," T'Challa said.

Bucky had a nod to acknowledge the compliment. Steve took a deep breath.

"I would not have been able to look at myself afterwards. Abandon you for things that weren't your fault? Ditching my first and oldest friend for a new one? How could _Tony_ respect me if I abandoned my old friend for any new one? Especially when the new friend was wrong. If I'm not loyal to you, then why would I be loyal to him?" Then he gave him a pained look. "You were in need of help. Would I be your friend if I had turned my back to you at that time? You never turned yours when _I_ was in need."

"I... Damn it, Steve, I was not trying to make you feel guilty. I was just saying... I mean, Stark wanted to preserve your friendship."

"Was he? I don't know. Not long before, he told me that he had hated me during all his young years because of the friendship between his father and me. Then he said he didn't want to be see me leave because they needed me. You understand? You never needed me, but you never wanted me to leave."

Bucky strode forward and hugged him fiercely. "You jerk. I always needed you. You are my friend, damn it!"

Steve returned the hug just as fiercely. "Exactly what I was saying." Nobody commented on his emotion-laden voice.

-o-o-

"Cap?"

"Stop calling me that, Tony." Steve sighed. "If you don't remember my name, I go by Nomad nowadays." He looked down at his black uniform and had a wry smile as he remembered that he had been happy to see Bucky in another colour.

"You do? That's ridiculous."

"That defines what I do and what I am, more than Captain America ever did. Besides you told me I didn't deserve that shield."

"Yes, I did." Steve wondered if it was regret he heard in Tony's voice. But he didn't let it stop him. Tony was known to be able to express regrets and then sprout the most idiotic thing ever.

"At the time, since I made what looked like a very selfish choice, I agreed with you. Now, I ask you: who are you to tell me if I'm deserving or not?"

Tony made a gagging sound at the other end of the line.

"You're a lot like your father, you know. Like him, you are untouchable, because you are rich and have done so many things for the Army and the government. But Wanda is none of that. You were her only protection and you failed her."

Tony didn't answer immediately. Steve hoped it was because he was feeling guilty.

"Now, she's yours," Tony finally said, very formally.

Steve laughed. "No, she's not. Someone else is watching over her. Closely, in case you wonder. I can't, not with being abroad all the time." He knew that she was Bucky's. His friend had taken a liking to the young woman when they had rescued her – and the others – from the Raft. Maybe it had been due to the straight jacket he had found Wanda in. It had not seated well with him. T'Challa had been less than enthusiastic to offer asylum to her, but Bucky had been persuasive. Wanda had remained calm and subdued while Bucky had been in cryostasis, though from what Steve had been told, she had come every day, leaning her hands and head against the cool glass who kept Bucky frozen as if it could help him – or her. Now, they were often together and Wanda helped Bucky with his uneasiness about casual touches. It also helped that he had absolutely no fear of her.

"But you didn't call me for that."

"Thor told us about the Infinity Stones. I thought it would be a good idea to put Vision under protection. Maybe whoever is keeping an eye on Wanda can protect Vision also."

"Does he really _need_ protection? I believe him fully capable to protect himself."

"To make it harder to reach him, if you prefer. We may be facing the end of all things."

"I'll send Nat to you."

"She's with you then?"

"You didn't give her much choice, if I understood well."

"I didn't denounce her to Secretary Ross."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"You actually kept them all by your side?"

"Clint is back with his wife and kids and Scott with his daughter. But I know where the others are, yes."

Tony didn't answer. Among the others, there was Bucky and Tony certainly didn't want to talk or think about Bucky.

"Send with Nat whoever you want to be protected," Steve said. "Doing it alone is not the solution to every problem."

Tony grunted and hung up. Steve sighed. Still, they had talked and he didn't even regret those little jabs. Maybe it was time that he put Tony back to his place instead of meekly protesting and dealing with the consequences afterwards.

-o-o-

Natasha left with the Quinjet, while Steve and Sam went to destroy yet another load of Chitauri weapons. Steve was feeling very tired with that, but less enhanced weapons on Earth meant more security. They coordinated themselves so that Natasha picked them up before going back to Wakanda. Steve was surprised to see that Bruce and Rhodes were with Vision.

"That bad?" he said tightly.

At first, Rhodes didn't even look at him and Bruce answered in his stance. "Tony tried to put Pepper on board too, but she wouldn't hear of it. She said she had Extremis anyway, so the villain better be prepared for a firebrand if he angered her." He glanced at Rhodes. "It would have been better if some of us had stayed with him," he added softly. "He needs to be watched over. He's pushing himself too hard. But he wanted us safe."

"He believes he will fail in keeping you safe," Steve realised. "He doesn't think he'll pull it through this one, does he?"

"We have worrisome news. There are strange things happening in New York. Someone is after the Infinity Stones and he has an Infinity Gauntlet on which he can put the stones. Whatever that means exactly. Apparently, he already has a first stone, the Power Stone, which he took from the Nova Corps."

"Who?"

"The Nova Corps. The intergalactic military and police force. The Guardians of the Galaxy had given them the stone for safekeeping, knowing how dangerous it was."

"Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy?" Sam asked. Steve was feeling lost also.

Bruce sighed. "Sorry, I forgot you're not up to date with what we know and whom we met. This situation is strange. The Guardians of the Galaxy are, uh, a group of... well, maybe we could call them the Space Avengers."

"Oh. Misfits with a same goal, so they teamed up," Sam commented.

Bruce looked at him with a kind of stupor. Rhodes snickered.

"Anyway. Gamora, one of them, came to talk to us. She knows the guy who's after the stones. It's her adoptive father, Thanos, also called the 'Mad Titan'.

"And she's siding with us?"

"Yeah. Not a happy childhood. As for the next part, Thanos put his hand on Loki and the Tesseract."

"Loki? As in the Loki who brought the Chitauri to Earth?"

"Yes, that one. He redeemed himself and Thor trusts him enough to give him the Tesseract. He's playing the inside spy. To great risks for his life, might I add."

"Which means that Thanos will soon have a second stone, no? How long will Loki be able to detain him from taking it from the Tesseract?"

"I don't know, but I think the best one for that _is_ the God of Mischief."

"Any other bad news?"

"That we're here with criminals is not bad news enough for you?" Rhodes said aggressively. "You're making Tony feel guilty while you're a mighty hypocrite! You worked for the government and when they tell you that you need to be overseen, you leave!"

"I worked for the government until I discovered how corrupt they were. Then I dismantled them and left. When S.H.I.E.L.D became compromised, I didn't say 'Let get the helicarriers down and carry on', I said, 'The helicarriers _and_ S.H.I.E.L.D go down'. When I worked with the Avengers, we had our own agenda, not one dictated by governments. No matter what Secretary Ross said, we care more for the damages than he ever did. You know, Pietro's words are still in my head when he saw Fury's helicarrier arrive at Sokovia. He said, 'This is S.H.I.E.L.D?' And when I told him that it was what S.H.I.E.L.D was supposed to be, he said 'This is not so bad'. If S.H.I.E.L.D was what it was supposed to be, believe me, I would still be working for them. But not when they make weapons of mass destruction, able to kill one thousand targets at the same time instead of protecting the people. You should know about that. You have been used enough to know people and agendas change."

Rhodes nodded slowly, but his face was still closed.

"Maybe we need supervision. But I'm not the one who used my suit to break glasses of champagne during a party or eat a burger on top of a building. I'm not the one who created Ultron. Maybe the reason why Tony was so adamant for those Accords was because he knew _he_ needed supervision. But we all know, you the first one, that he rarely listens to any kind of advice. On the other hand," he added more gently, "I understand how hard it can be to listen to critics against your best friend, no matter his shortcomings. You're loyal to him and I value that. I regret that you were hurt during what should have remained between Tony and I."

Rhodes nodded again, this time less tense.

-o-o-

Fortunately when T'Challa welcomed them all, Bucky was nowhere in sight. Vision looked around for Wanda, but she was not visible either. T'Challa was genuinely friendly but that didn't stop the worry to show on his face.

"We're making Wakanda a target," Steve guessed.

"We would have been one anyway. Besides, we would never have stood aside." He smiled at Shuri who grinned.

"Too many gadgets to test and not enough test subjects!" she exclaimed as gleeful as a child. "I made you a new uniform, Nomad, all black, since this is how you want it. I got inspired by your old uniforms, so you won't feel uncomfortable. I added arm shields. You'll tell me what you think of them. You," she pointed at Sam, "I improved your wings."

Steve left discreetly as she was explaining to Sam, then to Natasha all the things she had made for them. Not long after, Bucky joined him, sweaty and carrying Wanda in his arms. Steve had a curious look in his direction. Bucky seemed to only notice Wanda.

"Sorry," he said, putting her down. "Go find Vision and thanks." As Wanda left running, Bucky added, "Part of my new training. I carry Wanda around to increase my strength and endurance while running and such. She... It means she's not lonely that way."

Steve continued his way and Bucky followed him silently.

"What troubles you?"

"You told me... the fight between us has been engineered."

"That's no news. Zemo told us himself."

"Yeah, that, but you spoke of someone playing with us. Someone who would benefit from our division. The thing that pushed Tony over the edge was that video. If it had been only his father, maybe he would not have snapped that much, but his mother? Especially since he was already unbalanced because of Pepper and him breaking up. The timing was perfect."

"It may be a coincidence. The Accords, the break up, the video. But I rather think Zemo has planned it that way. He said he had been studying you for a year. He could have decided that this was the best time, since Stark was emotionally unstable."

"What?"

"He could have started it anytime, Steve! All he needed was the video to push Stark after me. All the rest around it was just… just for show!"

"How did he know where to find that video?"

"I told him. Siberia. I knew it was there, since I brought it myself. I mean, he didn't ask me precisely for the video, but somehow, he knew. No, not somehow. I'm stupid. I looked for it while you were gone. Zemo didn't just spend his time looking at you. He searched the data Romanoff dumped on the Internet and spent time decrypting it. He's patient, he said so. He probably found lots of things in HYDRA data, but I know there are some things he couldn't find there. The book with the trigger words. They wouldn't have put the trigger words in a database where everyone could have accessed it. It was a well-kept secret. Only one person had the book and the words."

"Who?"

"The one who controlled me back then. Vasily Karpov."

"So he helped Zemo?"

"No, Zemo killed him. Karpov was HYDRA through and through. Zemo couldn't care less for HYDRA."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he killed the five Winter Soldiers. I found an obscure news report about Karpov being found dead. Zemo tortured him, probably to make him say something. The place of the video. No. No, once again, I'm not thinking it through. The first thing he asked me when he triggered me was about the mission… well, you know which one. Argh! I told him. _I_ told him. I gave him a detailed account of the mission, including the fact that I shot the camera. He probably asked Karpov, who didn't tell him, so he came after me. Once he conditioned me, I would have told him everything he wanted to know."

"You put a lot of thought into that."

Bucky had a humourless laugh. "Though Stark would never believe it, I hate that people mess with my mind."

"So you torture yourself with how you could have avoided it?"

He shrugged. "You know, they told me they needed me so that HYDRA could free the people. They wanted me to think I was fighting for the good. But somehow, I knew they were lying because each time I recovered a bit of my old memories, I would doubt. Killing never seemed to be the right solution. So they would wipe my mind again… Maybe if I had been stronger…"

Steve hated the pain in Bucky's eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers Infinity War.

* * *

That night, Steve woke up suddenly because horrible screams were coming from the room next to him. He bolted through the door, only to be stopped by Shuri at Bucky's threshold. Her face was sad.

"Don't go in here," she said. "He wouldn't like it."

"Why?"

"I went in the first time I heard him. He almost killed me when I tried to awake him and spent the three following days both apologising and explaining to me why I should _never_ come in during his nightmares. He's like a cornered beast right now. If he hurt you in any way, he won't forgive himself."

"Why… what… didn't you say he was cured? Healed?"

"He is, Nomad, he is. No more can he be triggered into a mindless assassin by random words. But his memories are untouched, exactly as he wished it. I asked him if he wanted me to do something about what he had done during his years as the Winter Soldier. Not remove the memories, but… tone them down. He refused, Nomad. Every day, every night, he pays the price of his past deeds."

Steve put his hand against the door and wished he could bring Bucky out of his nightmare or at least, come battle it with him. Shuri watched him closely, ready to stop him if he tried to enter no matter what. She still had a very vivid memory of what had happened when she had tried it and she didn't think telling Steve that Bucky slept with a knife under his pillow would stop him. Wanda came to stand next to them.

"Hey," she said softly.

"You too?"

"It's been mostly like that since Shuri got him out of cryo."

Like him, she laid her hand against the door, then her other hand and finally her forehead. Steve was reminded of Shuri telling him about Wanda's visit to her lab while Bucky was still under cryo-stasis. Contrary to what he had imagined, there was no red light playing around her fingers. She seemed to know what he thought and said, "He told me not to play with his mind, even though he trusts me. Said he deserved what he got, that if the price to pay was a few nightmares, he got off lightly. I could stop his nightmare, right now. But he would hate me and I'm too selfish for risking to lose him. Is that wrong?"

Steve's hand fell on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Not at all. It's called respecting your friend's wishes."

She straightened and turned around. "Now that I know him better, I understand why you fought so hard for him. He deserves it, not those horrible nightmares! I wish... I wish I was a good friend to him too."

"You are."

"How can you be so sure?"

"He smiles when he sees you."

The screams stopped and Steve sighed in relief.

-o-o-

The door opened and Bucky appeared, hair tousled and eyes narrowed.

"Don't you people have anything better to do than discuss in front of other people's door at night?" he groused.

"You were not sleeping," Shuri replied airily.

"Yeah, well... Did I truly wake you up or were you just prowling the corridor waiting for the alarm to start on?"

"I was coming from the lab," she admitted. "But not these two."

"Sorry, guys."

"Yeah, like you have a lot to be sorry for! Would it be better if one of us stayed with you?" Steve replied.

"Not unless you have a death wish and if you have, I can indicate you different ways to die that don't imply me."

"What if I hold you through the night?" Wanda suggested.

Bucky had a smile at that. "You're saying that to the wrong guy, Wanda girl."

Wanda blushed. He hugged her. "That would certainly be very nice," he said a bit wistfully, "but first, it wouldn't be safe for you and then, Vision would probably not understand it. Thanks for proposing, though." He looked at Shuri. "Were you 'coming' from the lab at the right hour to stop Steve from barging inside at the wrong moment?"

"Maybe."

"Thank you. I told you to find me a room with a lock."

Shuri seemed troubled for a moment. "Would that really help?"

"I don't know for sure. After... I mean, when I was in hiding, I didn't receive any complaint about noise in the middle of the night. But then, I didn't choose quiet areas either and they could also have been frightened of me."

To Wanda, he looked as frightening as a kitten, but he had that aura around him that spoke of strength and possible violence. That and the way his eyes scanned the surroundings all the time... She could understand people were afraid of him. As to echo her thoughts, he turned to her and had his lopsided grin.

"I'm not going to mew."

"What?" Steve asked, confused.

"She likes to say that she fears me as much as she fears kittens."

"Some people are terrified of cats," Shuri put in playfully.

Steve looked at Wanda with new respect. He had thought that Bucky's lack of fear was good for the young woman, but _her_ lack of fear toward Bucky was even better. Even Natasha was tense when Bucky was near – and Sam was rather on the hostile side. He mouthed his thanks to her. Bucky caught him in the act, shook his head, muttered something incomprehensible and went back to bed. Shuri nodded to them and left in direction of her own room.

"You _are_ a good friend to him," Steve stressed. "Because you see Bucky and not the Winter Soldier."

"He feels his friendship is doing you a disservice."

"What?"

"He knows Natasha and Sam are not at ease in his company or downright hate him. That's why he doesn't stay around when you're with them. He thinks that you deprive yourself of their company for making him feel better."

"I love Nat and Sam, but I thought I made it clear that I chose Bucky."

"Yes and he thinks that if he goes away, you'll be able to lead a normal life."

"Yeah. Well, if he speaks of that again with you, you can tell him that he disappears again, I'll hunt him down into the jaws of death."

Wanda gave him a big smile. "I'll pass the message."

-o-o-

"Cap? Are you aware of what's happening in New York?"

"Stop calling me that, Tony." Steve sighed.

"Yes, you're called Nomad now. I still find that name stupid."

"Feel free to find me another name. So?"

"We had some strange events. I'm in Strange's Sanctum."

"There are too many strange in your sentence."

"I am with Doctor Strange in the New York's Sanctum and some _bizarre_ things are happening. Better?"

"Yes, I understood this time. You need us to come?"

"I'm still pissed at you."

"Next time we see each other, we'll bash each other's head until you feel better. The only thing I'm apologising for is not telling you at once what I knew. But I don't regret protecting Bucky from you."

"He still killed them."

"He didn't know what he was doing. _You_ created Ultron and you knew what you were doing. I've thought a lot about Secretary Ross and what he showed us and told us. If anything, the only videos he should have shown us should have been Sokovia and Johannesburg, because we were guilty on those two. But the others? We were just reacting to bigger threats. Even Sokovia was kinda a bigger threat, except that we created it."

"Stop blaming yourself. _I_ created it."

"Yes. Yes, you did. But then, you put your life at risk trying to fix that. We tried to save as many civilians as we could. We lost one of ours doing exactly that, but Secretary Ross didn't speak of him. Then we tried to help with the damage. He didn't do any of this when he helped creating the Hulk. If anything, he worsened the thing. Think of it, Tony. Would the United Nation have given us leave to dismantle S.H.I.E.L.D? Would they have given us the go to destroy the helicarriers in time? You know as well as I do that whatever decision they would have taken would have been too late. As it was, we were almost too late."

"I know."

"Did they ask you for any help since you signed them?"

"No. Not once. But then, it's been pretty calm."

"No alien invasion, you mean. But the rest? The Lemurian Star, HYDRA's threat, Lagos and the bombing of the UN in Vienna, they were not alien invasions."

"That was political stuff, mostly."

"It doesn't matter. They were human threats. Things that we can deal with and with the minimum of collateral damage. If Wanda had not done what she had in Lagos, it would not have been the people on two floors who would have been killed, even if we would have preferred to avoid it. It would have been the whole market who would have been blasted. Besides, you weren't called for anything, because Nat, Sam and I have been taking care of it in your stead."

"Ah! That's what it was. I wondered about those clandestine networks being actively dismantled. So you continue not ignoring situations pointed south?"

"If you want to have people fighting you with Chitauri or Dark Elves weapons while contending with Thanos, be my guest. I thought it would be best to limit the damages while we could."

"I thought you said that every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die."

"I'm not trying to win a war, Tony."

"So righteous. Are you always right? Do you always make the right choices?"

Steve took a deep breath and one of Tony's sentences rang in his head. _Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth._

"You've always resented me, haven't you?" he realised. "Because I was friend with your father. Friend! He had no expectation for me, because I was not his son! Like he said, his only worry toward me was keeping me alive."

"He searched for you."

"That's what I was told. I was a symbol in that time. I was good for raising people's spirits. And maybe he looked for me to please Peggy, because they were friends too. He liked me, sure. But I was _not_ his son."

"You were his good friend, who saved the world on his own and was a true hero and saved lots of people and–"

"When you'll stop being childish, Tony, I'll gladly speak with you. Until then." Steve hung up. Tony swore.

-o-o-

"You said he looked for you?" Bucky asked from behind. Steve started.

"Yes, and I don't think it was for giving me a national funeral."

"You mean that you thought they hoped the serum had helped you to survive the crash of the _Valkyrie_. Which was the case. So he was looking for your frozen body, because they knew you wouldn't ever abandon Peggy if you could help it." He took a deep breath. "And he must have known that Zola experimented on me. That I had many chances to survive that fall too." He remained silent a moment. "If Stark knew about your probable survival, S.H.I.E.L.D knew and if S.H.I.E.L.D knew, _HYDRA_ knew."

"I knew nothing about the Winter Soldier until Project Insight. But until then, I had not been pitted against HYDRA. Then suddenly, you appear from nowhere."

"To destabilise you?"

"Bucky, without Sam and Nat, you would have killed me that day on the highway."

Bucky mulled this over. "So you think the video was meant to target you."

"It wouldn't have worked."

"They didn't know that. They could think that you seeing your friend kill another of your friends would put you off or unbalance you... Even just the time for them to succeed. It's a good idea. I mean, much better than thinking that someone had tinkered with time to record that video in the hopes of having Tony Stark get mad at you."

"You actually entertained that idea?"

"Well, that Strange guy has the Infinity Stone of time. If Thanos is going to get all those stones, maybe he thought that it would be easier for him to get them if he could create a rift between us before. So once he gets his hands on it the first time, he goes back in time to engineer all this. It would explain why me, except for the 'expendable prisoner we can experiment on' part. But it would also have suggested that Zemo had been part of a bigger plan and I don't believe it. He worked alone."

Steve stared in awe at his friend. "You're putting too much thought in that."

"Yeah, I know. But there are things that don't add up with this video and I hate things that don't add up. I think I'll go see Okoye for some training. It will make me think of something else."

"No, come with me instead," a new voice said.

"Nakia? Aren't you supposed to be with T'Challa right now?"

"Exactly! He's waiting for me. So don't make me be later than I should and come with me."

Bucky looked at Steve and shrugged with an apologetic smile, before following Nakia.

-o-o-

When he came back from his training and his shower, it was obvious he was still thinking about Zemo and the video.

"Who told you where to find me?" he asked suddenly.

"Sharon Carter."

Bucky gave him such a strange look that Steve protested immediately, "What? Are you implying that she was Zemo's accomplice?"

"You do know that she betrayed us to Romanoff, don't you?"

"What?"

"How do you think Stark found us at the airport? Carter told Romanoff. To her defence, she probably thought Romanoff was loyal to you. Which is the case."

"Natasha and Sharon?" Steve seemed perturbed by the revelation.

"Steve, tell me you're not that naive," Bucky groaned. "You _know_ you wouldn't have kissed Peggy's _niece_ if someone had not tricked you in thinking it was all right, no matter how helpful she had proved to be."

Steve opened his mouth and closed it several times without making a sound.

"You seemed supportive enough when I kissed her!"

"I didn't know who she was!"

"How did you... Oh! Sam told you."

"We do happen to speak from times to times and I wanted to know how Stark found us so quickly. Once I knew who she was and her history with you, it was easy to find out."

"Speak for yourself," Steve grumbled.

"You were not turned into an assassin who was trained to mistrust everyone," Bucky told him gently.

Steve winced and changed subject. "Okay, tell me about that mission."

Bucky froze before saying, "No, for that, you have to say 'Mission report, December 16, 1991'." Then he had a hysterical laugh. "Sorry," he managed before laughing again, bitterly this time. The silence that followed was deafening. "I was awaken from cryo sleep in the Siberian HYDRA base and prepared for a mission," he began.

Steve didn't say anything. By now, he knew what 'prepared for a mission' meant.

"Karpov gave me my orders. Sanction and extract. No witnesses. When they flew me to Long Island, I studied the target. They had given me a file. They often pointed me at the target and let me proceed, but sometimes, they gave me very specific instructions. This was one of those cases. They told me when, where, how and of course, what to retrieve. So that evening, I was on the road with my motorcycle, waiting for a specific car to drive by. It would have been hard to miss it, since it was the only one I saw. I shot the tire... Well, I don't have to tell you what happened, you saw it by yourself."

"Why did you wait till the end to shoot the camera?"

"I didn't even know there was one. I saw it when I was... when I was strangling Mrs. Stark. So I shot it and took the recording. Those were usually the instructions if I had been seen. But normally, it wouldn't matter that much, because I had the mask and the goggles or the black paint. Not that night. Besides, it had to look like an accident. Even a shot camera with no recording didn't arise suspicions. They knew not when it had been shot. I went back to Siberia, gave the video and the serum to Karpov and waited while they injected the serum to the other Winter Soldiers. Karpov made me fight one of them, realised they were now out of control and sent all six of us into cryogenics. End of report."

"So you think they stood you up, that they told you to shoot the car at precisely that place to record you killing the Starks."

"Yes. I mean, at the time, I didn't think much of it. They praised me for my good work so you know, you're not looking for suspicious things. I could have misjudged the distances and shot the tire three meters too far. Even with the video, what did I care? Nobody but they had it and we were on the same side. Right? But... but since the helicarriers, I've started thinking and after Siberia, I never stopped. It was a great weapon to use to unbalance Stark, but they couldn't have planned it that far. But if they knew you were not dead, just... bidding your time, it was just perfect. Except they forgot to use it and it took Zemo to do it."

"They probably didn't plan for Nat to dump their secrets onto the Internet and for us to dismantle S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA."

"Probably," Bucky agreed. "I'll think I'm gonna run for a while. Want to come?"

Steve didn't see fit to tell him that training with Nakia had certainly including running. If Bucky needed it to feel better, who was he to disagree?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers Infinity War.

* * *

"Cap? How is it going on your side?"

"It's still calm and stop calling me that, Tony." Steve sighed.

"Oh, sorry, Captain Obvious. We have quite a situation in New York."

"Want us to come?"

"No. Keep an eye on Vision. Thanos has got the second Infinity Stone. Loki had to surrender it and before anyone thinks of treason, the guy could barely walk last time I saw him and he's a god." There was sadness in Tony's voice.

"Will Strange manage to keep _his_ Stone from Thanos?"

"For the moment, he holds his own. He's quite impressive, if we get past his arrogance."

"Reminds me of someone," Steve murmured. "You sure you don't need us? If Strange can hold his own, certainly Vision can too."

"Is your Manchurian Candidate still with you?" Tony asked instead of answering the question.

"He's no more the Winter Soldier. Shuri cured him."

"Oh, so what? He forgot all he's done? He sleeps like a baby every night and smiles at the world upon waking up? Because I don't."

"He doesn't either, Tony, and you know it. You know Zemo played you. Yes, Bucky did it and believe me, he's not proud of it. But think about it! Why did HYDRA choose him? He was awakened for this specific mission. Except that he was in Siberia when he was awakened. So he had to go from Siberia to Long Island, just in time when your father left with the serum in his car. With no bodyguards. How did HYDRA know? Why awaken Bucky when they had five others who were already functional? It was a low risk mission, no fighting, no need of enhanced strength."

"You know, I've come to the exact same conclusion that someone in my parents' household was a traitor, someone my father trusted enough that he would leave home with the serums and no protection."

"Okay. So there's a traitor and upon his information, they drag the Winter Soldier out of cryostasis. He's the most efficient, the legend, everything you want. But any of those five others could have done it, right?"

"Probably."

"Now, we come to the problem of the video. What was its use? There are so many questions about this video, Tony. The night I first met the Winter Soldier and ran after him, he had a mask and some black paint around his eyes, so that I could not recognise him. If you look at the archives, each time someone managed to take a picture of the Winter Soldier, he had his mask and goggles. That night on the video, nothing, so everybody can see who he is. He was told 'no witnesses', he told me so himself. Yet he crashes the car right in front of a camera and only noticed it when the deed is done?"

Tony ground his teeth, but Steve didn't give him the time to say anything.

"And you know something else that surprised me? Your dad recognised him right away. Howard almost never met Bucky who was supposedly dead for almost fifty years yet bam! He recognised him straight in the dark. When I met Bucky on that bridge, it took me a few moments to recognise him. But then, _I_ didn't know he was alive."

"You–"

"Your father knew Bucky was alive and used by the enemy. So S.H.I.E.L.D knew also and they did _nothing_. I understand your grief, but frankly, since S.H.I.E.L.D and your father let Bucky be tortured for seventy years, well, I find it hard you blame him for something he had no control on while your own father knowingly let him suffer!"

"My mom had no part in all this–"

Once again, Steve interrupted him.

"I agree, your mom was the only innocent one in this. Innocents have to be protected at all cost, no matter politics. Something the Accords should take care of, right? Are they? Are they asking you to help right now?"

"They... No."

"I'll keep an eye on those you sent me. Bye, Tony."

-o-o-

"You shouldn't have told him that. It's not his fault," Bucky said.

Steve was getting used to him sneaking up on him to listen to his conversation with Tony. He didn't like it much but at least, he wasn't startled anymore.

"It isn't yours either," he replied tightly.

"I'm hardly an innocent man."

"That's what Zemo said," T'Challa commented. "If I had killed you to avenge my father's death, even though you were not guilty of it, it wouldn't have mattered to him, because you were not innocent. I did not agree with him then and I still don't." He looked at Steve. "I was in favour of the Accords until the bombing. Then I understood their limitations. I should have been stopped in pursuing White– Bucky, though I wouldn't have listened then, but someone had to bring Zemo to justice and we were the best ones to do it. Still, we are humans and bound to have human feelings, which is dangerous considering the powers we have."

"That's why we should not be alone and have a team, a team we respect and listen to. Tony decided of the Accords without telling us, without asking us, just because he thought it was the best thing! S.H.I.E.L.D thought Project Insight was a good thing too. Look what happened!"

"Maybe we should think of something. We need to be accountable for what we do."

"Wouldn't that shift the blame? If a committee tells us to stop someone and there are casualties, it would be their fault, not ours. Juridically spoken, because we would still feel guilty. Right now, we are responsible for what we do. Though I admit that when there's an alien invasion, I don't feel responsible for all the people that the aliens killed."

"Never mind that you try to save them even so," Bucky said sarcastically.

"Of course I do! What would be the point–"

"You know there are casualties in a war, Steve, and you're a soldier. You do your best while knowing it's not enough. It will never be enough." He turned to T'Challa. "As for the supervision, yes, we certainly should, if only to insure that none of our missions are personal."

"Are you hinting at something?" Steve said with a smile.

Bucky shrugged. "If they hadn't captured us, there wouldn't have been all those casualties in Berlin and maybe Zemo wouldn't have gotten to me. But you coming after me was personal and we both used our enhanced strength to hit a bunch of policemen who were just doing their job."

Steve glared.

"Need to hit someone?" Bucky inquired.

"Not you."

"Yes, me. The other guys wouldn't last long enough for you to vent up your anger. I don't fear anything. Come!"

Steve hated to admit it, but fighting with Bucky did him good, even though he knew his friend wasn't unleashing it. He was careful with his metal arm, since Steve didn't have his Vibranium shield anymore. The arm shields Shuri had provided were good though and helped him more than once, because Bucky used some vicious fight moves.

"Is it how you cope?" he asked during a break.

"I rather run. I would hurt too many people otherwise, unless I'm fighting with T'Challa. He does it sometimes, but he's a King and there's trouble coming up, so he's busy. Okoye and Nakia try their best to keep me training and when I feel too restless, I go for a long run." He had a sudden laugh. "Or I have Wanda throw things at my head for me to dodge and deflect. Makes her work too."

"How is she?"

"Better than when we got her out of the Raft. She likes me way too much for her own good, but considering whom she really likes, I'm not sure it's important. We need to protect Vision, Steve, because if not, Wanda will be devastated."

"I've seen what she does when in pain," Steve agreed. He looked away for a moment and added, "Loki had to bow to Thanos and walked out of the encounter in bad shape. I don't know what we can do for Vision."

"Loki's the God of Mischief, isn't he? So maybe he just lulled Thanos into safety, making him believe he was stronger than a god, and is just bidding his time to defeat him later?"

"Maybe," Steve conceded.

"End of the break. Back to fighting!" Bucky called.

They fought again for a long bout, but this time it was less sheer strength and more tactical hits. Bucky taught Steve some new moves before calling it a day.

"Are you going for a run?" T'Challa asked a bit wistfully, having assisted to the last exchanges.

"Yes," Bucky answered before Steve could.

"May I join you?"

"You know you're always welcome."

T'Challa showed Steve.

"He could object and want some more quality time with you."

Bucky shrugged. "You'll find he doesn't care."

So the three of them went running, faster and longer than anyone could have done. They stopped a moment before going back, looking at some spectacular scenery, and, just because he could, Steve began his session of 'You remember that time when'. He knew Bucky humoured him, but it made him feel better. First, because it meant Bucky remembered him and his past life and second, because it felt good to have someone with shared experiences. To show him two could play that game, Bucky asked him, "Hey, Steve, remember that time when I told you we were going to the future?"

Steve started. It was the first time Bucky asked him such a question. He feared what was following.

"Yeah. We saw a flying car."

"Well, we made it. To the future, I mean. But there still aren't any flying cars."

Steve laughed.

-o-o-

"Why not cut your hair?"

"I tried it," Shuri interjected before Bucky could answer Steve's out-of-the-blue question. "I made several simulations, but clean shaven and with short hair, he looked nice and innocent."

"Yeah, exactly."

"I've found some of the footages they recorded way back when you were fighting HYDRA during the war. Even then he wasn't innocent. A sniper is not innocent, no matter his targets. I agree that clean shaven and short hair would be closer to the look you associate with Bucky. But he's no more _only_ Bucky. A more dangerous look for a more dangerous man."

"He _is_ Bucky!"

"Steve... War changes us. Sometimes it changes us into someone we don't want to be. Even you changed. You wanted to do things right by your life, have a family... You _are_ making things right. But where is your family? What do you like to do? You are keeping busy all the time so that you don't have to think about the void in your life."

"Tell him, White Wolf," Shuri said softly.

"The violence and hatred of the Winter Soldier... They were all mine, Steve. The targets weren't. But if I had known where to find them, I would have gone after HYDRA instead. I was sick of the killing and I knew you wouldn't like it, so I didn't. Because I _could_ have found them. I just didn't try to, for you. I tried to be the Bucky you knew. But... but I no longer can. I am a killing machine, have been for seventy years. It's the only thing I know to do now. I know that what I did before was wrong. So I give my skills to your cause. Maybe I'll get some relief to know that this time, when I kill someone, I may save several others instead of dooming them. But the tiger cannot change its stripes, Steve. Maybe someday I'll revert back, the violence will go dormant as it was before the war; until then, we're still at war and I'm a warrior."

Steve knew not what to answer to that. If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that some parts of what Bucky had said had a deep resonance in him. So, instead of contesting it, he changed subject and turned to Shuri.

"Why do you call him 'White Wolf'?"

"Did you ask T'Challa why he called himself the Black Panther?"

"Well, the panther is your emblem, it's sort of understandable."

"Oh, good, so you understood the black and white thing. Wolves are canny, loyal and fiercely protective. Rings a bell?"

Steve looked at Bucky. "Yeah."

"Well, that and something else," Shuri amended. "But T'Challa will tell you."

"Will he... Does he want to send Bucky away?"

Shuri actually snickered. "Send him away? We would steal him from you if it was possible. But he wouldn't let us. Loyal, protective. Did I already said that?"

"Forgive her," T'Challa said. "She's so intelligent that she forgets people can actually talk and understand her."

"I had a sister, before," Bucky said quietly. "She was not that smart, nor prone to pranks, though she was playful. But... it was nice to have a family."

T'Challa and Shuri both seemed embarrassed, then Wanda came, slid under Bucky's arm and lay her head on his shoulder.

"Hey, missed me?" she asked with a smile.

He returned her smile and like that, the tense moment disappeared.

-o-o-

"Hey, Cap, are you ready on your side?"

"Hey, Tony, yes, we're ready and stop–"

"No, I won't, Captain Earth. Thanos apparently gave up on Strange's stone and he's coming after Vision. He sent his army ahead, creatures with four arms, telepathic abilities or something like that. They're called Outriders."

"How's Strange?"

"Not that good, but he's holding his own. He managed to counter off every attack from Thanos, even when his minions tortured him. Seems the guy is used to pain and can continue to twist time while writhing in agony. Thanos is not patient and decided to come back, when he would have more stones and thus more powers."

"I'll warn the others."

"I thought about all you told me," Tony announced. "How could your Zemo guy be sure his plan would work, that I would be here to see his video?"

"He knew you'd come. Because, as would Wanda says, you would do anything to make things right. You often think that you are the only one who can make things right." Then Steve thought some more. "Even if you had not come, it wouldn't have mattered. He would have sent you the video, then you would have started hunting down Bucky and things would have ended up pretty much the same. Or maybe, since he wouldn't have been right under your nose at that time, you would have thought and concluded that it wasn't him who did it."

"I... I don't know, Cap," Tony confessed. "I'm not sure I can overlook those images."

"I know."

"How do you manage it?"

"I knew Bucky before and I can promise you that he would never have done that. HYDRA forced him to become an assassin without feelings, but he was a caring man."

"Was?"

Steve hesitated. "Those years changed him. He's still the Bucky I knew but... not only that. There's darkness in him now and guilt and he's using one to fight against the other. I think he wishes he didn't have to fight and kill anymore, but he's willing to help us, to redeem himself."

"When I think of his face on the video, I find it hard to believe. That man felt nothing!"

"When I met him on the bridge, he felt nothing too. Then I called his name and he started to hesitate. On the helicarriers, same. When he's conditioned, he feels nothing, because if HYDRA had let him be himself, he would never have done all those things, so they had to suppress everything that made him."

"Hmm. I'll have to see it to believe it."

"I can live with that."

"I'm leaving now, if I want to be ahead of Thanos. Bye, Cap!"

-o-o-

"Why do you keep calling him?" Pepper asked as he hung up.

"You know why."

" _I_ know. But do _you_?"

Tony sighed. "We need Cap, I'm sure of it. But..."

"Who do you want to change their mind?" Pepper prodded.

"He protected Barnes, the murderer of my parents!"

"Barnes didn't know what he was doing. _You_ created Ultron and you knew what you were doing," Pepper replied calmly. At Tony's surprised look, she added, "Natasha keeps me apprised of what's happening. Tony, you can't hope to save the world alone. You are an intelligent man. Think about all this! You know this Zemo manipulated you and you played right into his hands. It didn't help that we had broken up at that time nor that there were the Accords, but still! Barnes knew what you were going to see on that video, yet he didn't do anything, did he? He just stood there, looking at you watching it. He could have shot the screen. Or worse, he could have shot you. He let you, and more importantly, _Steve_ , realise exactly what he had done. Knowing and seeing are always different things."

"He didn't care," Tony growled.

"That's what you think? Do you know what he did when he left you in Siberia?"

"Yeah, he broke in the Raft with Cap to free his teammates."

"Good! And after? Well, after, he went back to cryogenic state, because he didn't want someone else to control him again. Steve didn't want him to. And in his place, I would have been terrified, because it meant that I had to entirely trust the people who monitored me during this time. After what he lived, I'm not sure how he can trust anyone – except Steve. He had just recovered his life and gave up everything to protect his friend! And you think he doesn't care?"

"You heard Cap. Even he is no more sure of who his friend is."

"That's not what I heard. I heard a man wonder why his fun-loving friend would want to hide from the rest of the world. I heard a heartbroken man telling you that his friend was willing to do what he now hates the most to help him."

Tony went to her and embraced her. "I love you."

Pepper was not sure he had listened to anything she had said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers Infinity War.

* * *

"Tony is coming," Wanda announced to Bucky. "He just called Cap to tell him that Thanos was heading this way, so he's coming too. He should be arriving any minute now."

Bucky grabbed her hand, not caring for Vision. "Why are you nervous? Stark has nothing against you."

"I... I blamed him for my parents' death, you know? Of course, that was before I became an Avenger, but me becoming an Avenger had more to do with Clint than with Stark. It's probably stupid, but he's unpredictable, and okay, I'm overreacting."

Bucky titled his head as they heard the sound of a Quinjet approaching.

"Nothing's gonna happen to you, Wanda, my girl," he promised. "You stay right behind me, okay? I don't know how I'm going to be received and I don't want you caught in the fire. Stark won't have Soviet-made bullets like I used before, so even if he shoots me, as long as you stay behind me, you'll be okay. Even with his Iron Man gadgets, you'll be safe behind me."

"I know how to defend myself, Bucky."

He shook his head. "No, Wanda, you should not be fighting your friends for me, even though you could defeat them all without a second thought."

He kept her hand in his and pulled her after him, taking care of always standing between her and whoever was facing him. Vision followed suit.

Tony glowered, when seeing the infamous Winter Soldier standing next to Steve.

"What is he doing here?" he hissed.

"Where I go, he goes. It has always been like that. The only time he went somewhere without me, I had to rescue him from an enemy base where he was experimented on," Steve replied dryly. Then his tone softened, "You called for help. Everyone wanted to be there. We parted like enemies, but we are not, Tony."

"He is cured," T'Challa said. "He is no more the man who killed your parents."

Tony wanted to say he didn't care, but settled for glaring at Bucky, who remained emotionless before remarking off-handedly, "Steve needs someone to watch over him when he's in the thick of the fight. We are used to fight together."

"Yeah, I remember that. Two against one!"

"We were trying to keep you alive, which you weren't trying to do toward me. You even thought Steve would kill you." Then he leaned forward and very quietly, he said, "Believe me, if Steve had wanted you dead, I would not have let you live, Iron Man or not."

Tony turned around to check that Pepper had come out of the Quinjet. Natasha had already moved forward to welcome her. He greeted T'Challa and the others, introduced the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy – Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax and Mantis – before allowing his eyes to return to Bucky who had yet to move. He almost didn't see Wanda behind him.

"I need to have a conversation with Barnes."

Steve tensed and Bucky looked at him. "It's all right, Steve," he said gently. "I don't think he's gonna kill me right now. He's smart enough to wait for Thanos to do it himself or until we've defeated him."

Tony wondered how he had never noticed Steve had always his friends or teammates looking out for him. Considering it, Bucky in his right mind had always tried to protect Steve. It was oddly endearing. Who did that for _him_?

Bucky gently let go of Wanda's hand, looked at Steve who nodded and walked away to find a quiet place to discuss. Tony followed him. If he activated his bracelet, he could fire at him in the back and get rid of him right now. On the other hand, Bucky was probably expecting something of that ilk and would hit him before the bracelet was functional. And also, one more fighter against Thanos was not to be neglected. Unseen from both of them, Steve motioned Natasha to follow them.

Strangely, Bucky did not let him speak first.

"Stop feeling guilty or whatever it is you are feeling right now. You are hurting Steve and I suppose you are hurting yourself too. Just stop accusing me in front of him and rebuild your friendship with him. He's only waiting for that. Then if you have something to tell me and want to hit me, do it in private. No need to hold him accountable."

"He protected you from me."

"They told me you were as smart as Shuri. They're wrong. You're an idiot."

Tony bristled.

"He protected _you_ from _me_ ," Bucky continued. "As I told you earlier, without Steve, I would have killed you. But you don't know Steve. You think you do, but you don't. Because if you really did, you would _never_ have thought that he would kill you in Siberia, when he slammed down that shield of his. You thought he would aim for your face and not for your arc reactor, didn't you?"

"Pepper says that my arc reactor is the proof I have a heart." Tony berated himself for saying that aloud.

"Yeah, so what? He broke your heart and left you alive? No wonder you're mad at him," Bucky said sarcastically before he shoved him back. "I was blinded with brainwashing and fury, trying to kill him, I had shot him at least three times and still, he saved me and stood before me, relinquishing his weapon to tell me he would not fight me because I was his friend. I didn't even recall his name by that time! You think that this man, who would have let his friend kill him rather than fight said friend, would kill you? Well, think again." He looked at him up and down. "On the other hand, are you worthy of being his friend?"

"Are you?" Tony replied, more shocked than he dared to admit.

"Never said I was. But I'm doing my best to be." He shrugged. "Now you decide if we all go down because of a petty feud all for something that happened almost thirty years ago or if we try to save the world together from a terrifying threat. Your choice, but hurry, people are waiting to be saved."

"You... you..."

"Yes, me. But continue to hurt Steve and I'll take the chance that he likes me way better than you and get rid of you. Definitely."

He turned away to leave before stopping and going back to Tony. "On the other hand, I wonder if you're not this mad just because you know you betrayed him first."

"I never–" Tony exclaimed indignantly.

"Of course you did. You came at that airport all righteous about the Accords but _not caring one iota_ about what Steve told you. You waited to have proof. You didn't believe him until then, came offering a _truce_ and that poor fool told you it was good to see you. Romanoff trusted him and she's way more paranoid than you. But she knows Steve. You don't." He glared at him. "You know why we recruited people, don't you?"

Tony gave him a blank stare.

"We didn't know you were going to show up at the airport. The others were to help against the five other Winter Soldiers. But you had to come!"

"I was trying to limit the damages!"

"Which ones? If we had succeeded, Steve would have delivered Zemo to you gift-wrapped, with the full story and the five psycho-assassins. Like it was, you put our mission to risk, since we were only two against five with me being a liability since Zemo could activate me whenever he wanted. You also put Rhodes to risk, because something _always_ happens when enhanced people play together a bit roughly."

"I had no reason to..."

"You remember when Steve told you he was sorry, but he would still do it because I was his friend?"

"Yeah. I told him I had been too."

"You know the difference between you and me? I actually listen when he tells me something. I may be pissed at him, but I listen. I don't start punching him or ask a kid to steal his shield using spider webs while telling him his judgement is askew."

"You're saying that I don't listen to my friends?"

"Anything new here, Stark? You're smart, okay, I'll grant you that, though I still think Shuri's smarter. But you have the unfortunate habit of thinking that you're the only one to know what's to be done and who can do it. No matter the objections of the others, you don't listen to them. We are talking about the guy who cannot lie. Oh yeah, I forgot, _I_ was the liar and Steve, being the good friend he is, trusted me. That's what friends do, right? They trust each other. We also speak of the guy who went to save four hundred men behind the enemy lines and when he came back, said he wanted to surrender himself for disciplinary action. And you think he would avoid his responsibilities? Do you know him at all?"

Tony left in a huff.

-o-o-

"Thanks for what you said about me, Barnes," Natasha said.

"Don't let it get to your head, Romanoff. That battle at the airport at least told us two things. First, you know that Steve trusts you with his life and then, I know you're a true friend of his. Thank you for that."

"How do you know about...?"

"People like us are never trusted, Romanoff. Unless by my dumb little guy from Brooklyn."

"I have friends!" she protested.

"Good for you. You mean Hawkeye? May I remind you that you fought against him at the airport?"

Natasha shrugged. "What's a little skirmish between friends?"

Bucky had a small smile. "Indeed. It's not as if we tried to kill each other, is it?"

"Keeps the relationship warm and alive."

"Must be that." Then he turned serious again. "In this fight, I have your back."

"I know."

Tony planted himself in front of Steve, who tensed.

"Barnes was alive last time I saw him," Tony declared.

"I know that."

"I brought your shield, in case you wanted it back."

"It doesn't belong to me anymore. Remember? It's government's property."

"Technically, it's Stark's property. And I'm giving it back to you."

"Until we clash again."

"Damn it, Cap, stop it and take that shield back! Use it or not, but take it as the olive branch it is!"

Steve looked at the round shield. It had been part of him for almost all his fighting years. But when he had chosen Bucky, when he had chosen his own life, they had told him that he wasn't worthy of it anymore. Bucky would probably tell him that he was stupid to believe them. Without Steve, the shield would have remained a prototype in Howard's laboratory. Still, the three colours shield was not him anymore. He gently put it back in the Quinjet.

"Better not to lose it," he said,

Tony sighed. "Look, I'm so–"

"Stop it, Tony. You were right, that shield was your father's. As a matter of fact, I don't have anything that truly belongs to me. I just have Bucky. So forgive me if I choose my friend over a thing that was lent to me. Like that time you chose Pepper above your Iron Man suits."

Tony glared at him.

-o-o-

He found Bucky looking in the far-off, away from the others, though still near enough to hear if there was an alert. He was muttering something under his breath.

"What are you doing?"

Bucky didn't seem surprised to see him, though Tony himself was wondering why he was actively looking for the man who killed his parents.

"Trying to calculate how many aliens account for a human life. Do you think fifteen would do?"

"One of those aliens could probably kill one hundred humans!"

"That's not how you should calculate. I'm not trying to know how many I may save. Even if I stop dozens of them, you only need one to slip through your fingers to make long-lasting damages." Tony was shocked to see pain on Bucky's face. "Twenty maybe is better. Sounds good, don't you think? Okay, twenty it is," he added, nodding. Then with an afterthought, he added, "I will have to make a real carnage to even begin to pay my debt. Do you think they'll prosecute me for killing aliens?"

"We'll make sure not. For the rest, I can't answer."

Bucky had a wry smile. "Yeah, I understand. Did you make up with Steve?"

"I brought back his shield."

"That's not what I asked you."

"I'm... not good with polite words. Ask Pepper. I brought her strawberries to apologise once and that is the only thing she's allergic to."

"Good for you then that Steve isn't waiting for a heartfelt speech. He may already have forgiven you. If not, he would not be speaking to you or he would have told you."

"He doesn't tell me everything."

Bucky's eyebrows rose and he waited for what Tony had to say.

"He knew that my parents didn't die in an accident and didn't tell me!"

"S.H.I.E.L.D knew well before Steve and they didn't tell you either. Besides, he was busy saving the world."

"He was supposed to be my friend!"

"Because you, his friend, tell him everything. Like when you're going to create a monster like Ultron. Or when you did it again, but it gave birth to Vision. He didn't know. The only thing he knew was that it wasn't an accident, that HYDRA had orchestrated it all. He could have told you that and you would have hunted down HYDRA. Oh, wait, you were already doing it!"

Tony glared, but because he could say something, Bucky continued, "He may have had suspicions that I did it, but no proof. Maybe when he heard about the other Winter Soldiers he thought that they had done it, because despite everything, he wanted me to be innocent. Until he saw that video, he didn't _know_ it was me."

"That's why you let us see it?" Tony asked, remembering what Pepper had said.

"I had to be honest with him. He had the right to know and see what his friend had done. I took a risk, though selfishly, I hoped he wouldn't care. That doesn't change what I did, that doesn't lighten my burden, but at least, he knows. It even probably added to _his_ guilt." He paused. "Anything else you would clear out of your system?"

"How did it work so well?" Tony asked ruefully.

-o-o-

Bucky looked at him. "We were facing a very determined man. I'm sure that he had several backup plans if this one didn't work. After Sokovia, he studied you and patiently analysed the S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA's files Natasha dumped on the Internet, intend on finding _something_ to tear you apart. Anything. He finds two funny things: one is that the date your parents died is recorded in HYDRA's files. The second is that Captain America's best friend is still alive and is now the Winter Soldier, HYDRA's secret weapon. That's a good track to follow. Maybe he followed ten of them before. But... if only those two facts were connected? So he tries to get his hands on a proof. A proof that was never meant for you, but for Steve, to show him what they had made of his friend, to break him."

Tony's eyes narrowed. "Why? Cap had disappeared fifty years before."

"They knew he was alive. Or would be alive. I mean, the pitiful version Zola had kept me from dying after a fall from a train and into... Never mind. The perfect version from Erskine could only be better, so Steve had had to survive that crash. They just had to be patient before breaking him definitely."

"They?"

"Sorry. Bad habit. Don't use names on missions. First try doesn't work. So, let's get to the main culprit himself. Me. Vienna. Berlin. Zemo triggers the words and I spill it all. There's a video of that fateful night. Never thought before why my keepers kept that video. I didn't even know they had kept it. I mean, I was HYDRA's _secret_ weapon. Why keep a video where my face was clearly seen? There was only one person who would care."

"Cap."

"Yeah. But he took his sweet time coming back. They probably were at loss with the Chitauri invasion in New York and then, they... Pierce didn't know about the video." Hearing his voice full of hate when Bucky said 'Pierce', Tony understood why HYDRA forbade him to use names. It seemed to concentrate his anger. "When he took me from the Russians, ah, let's say it was not a friendly exchange. So the Russians didn't tell him anything and certainly not that they had a video of their secret weapon. It remains hidden. Anyway, I told Zemo that I had brought back the video to Siberia. Either it was destroyed or it is still there. So he goes to Siberia."

"And how did he know who was going to be called for your psychological evaluation?"

"The man decrypted S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA's encrypted files. Do you think he'd have a hard time breaking into the CIA? How long would it take _you_? They probably have a pre-established list of people they can call on. He chose the most probable and replaced him. If not, he would have found another way, that's all."

Tony nodded. "So, Siberia."

"Yeah. Except that I don't think about the video. I think about the other Winter Soldiers, the five psychopaths he could awaken. I tell Steve, who's horrified, of course. We have to go to Siberia. And once you discover it all, because Zemo does his best for his treachery to be discovered, you have to come too, because you have to make it right, like Steve. But you're the only one who can make it right, right?"

Tony growled.

"Besides, while we were all trying not to hurt anyone, Rhodes was hurt even so. So he can't come with you and keep you calm. It's you and Steve and Steve's judgement is askew, isn't it?" Bucky closed his eyes. "The video is here. So everything's ready, everybody's here and he... Zemo gets his little moment."

"What if there hasn't been any video?"

"You wonder? Ten words and then 'Mission report, December 16, 1991'. It's all it would have taken for you to know the whole truth, from my own lips. Less shocking than the video, but just as efficient."

Tony sighed. Bucky looked at him. "Tell me, did I come close to what you had understood?"

"Pretty close," he admitted. "I missed the unfriendly exchange with the Russians, though."

"You know what? I trusted them and I feel betrayed." Bucky had a bitter laugh. "They... HYDRA tortured me, brainwashed me, made a killer out of me and I'm furious because they betrayed me by keeping that video!"

"They could have wanted it to keep you in check."

"Stark, you don't punish your gun when it misfires. You make sure it's correctly taken care of so that it doesn't happen another time."

Tony was so taken aback that he just managed to say, "Wow."

"No, the video was because they wanted to target Steve through me and it makes me mad, more than what they did to me."

"Nobody gets the right to hurt Steve?" Tony whispered.

"Yeah. And because of them, I tried to kill him. They wanted to break him, but they would never have succeeded."

Tony stared hard at him. "No," he said suddenly. " _You_ don't get the right to think that. He would have broken just like you under the same torture."

"Would he? Or was I already flawed, was I already a killer without knowing it?"

-o-o-

"We should prepare for Thanos's army to show up," Tony announced, coming from nowhere and brimming with impatience. He was also quite rumpled.

Since it was hardly uncommon – except for the rumpled part – the others just hummed their agreement and didn't bother more.

"Now," he insisted.

T'Challa glanced at him and made a few gestures. People behind him left hurriedly. The rest of the group turned around to look at Steve expectedly.

"I'm not..." he began.

Despite himself, Tony grinned. Steve's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Bother," he muttered. "Okay. Tony, Sam and Rhodey, you keep an eye on what's coming from above. Wanda and Vision, you stay behind and make sure nothing gets past you." Then he growled. "Why am I bothering? You all know what's to do!" Then he seemed to remember that one of them may not know and he looked around.

"Where's Bucky?" he exclaimed.

Wanda turned around to stare at Tony accusingly. Steve almost dismissed it, except that Tony was fidgeting, and now that nobody was talking anymore, it seemed to him that he was hearing some shouts faraway.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, I swear! It's just... Outriders showed up where we were talking. I... I started for them and he held me back, telling me it was not my fight, that I had people to take care of, a family; that it was _his_ fight. And he ran at them."

"And you actually listened to him?" Pepper asked incredulously.

"Er, no. I followed him, he shouted at me and when I didn't stop, he grabbed me, lifted me above his head and threw me back, all the while yelling at me to leave, that he didn't need any help to get rid of them."

"Captain Rogers, I definitely love your friend," Pepper declared.

"That he was born a killer," Tony added in a whisper.

Steve stopped listening: he was already running in the direction Tony had come from, the others following him. When he stopped dead, they all imitated him. Bucky was fighting like a demon against some creatures with four arms and he was unleashing all the violence he said he had in him. Each time he put one of them down, he yelled a victory shout, but the rest of the time, he had that emotionless face he had as the Winter Soldier, fully concentrated on the fight, and he was deadly efficient. He got rid of the last one and came trotting back toward them. Most of the Avengers were not looking at him, but rather at the pile of dead aliens he had left behind.

"Better be ready," he said in a cold voice. "The others are coming. Those were just the welcoming committee."

He took the new rifle someone was holding out to him, nodded to Steve and T'Challa and turned around to face the enemy, standing apart, in front of them, as if he was ready to lead the attack – or to protect them all. Tony came to him, clapped his shoulder and whispered something to him before his helmet closed on his head. Bucky froze. Natasha and Sam made him a place between them and she softly called him. He stared at them for a moment before stepping back and finding himself among the reunited Avengers.


End file.
